William Murphy's Reviews
For a budget game, there's a lot to love in Monster Jam Steel Titans, despite its shortcomings. If you're a megafan of Monster Jam, there's probably never been a better game. Still, it's lacking some basic design functions that could make it a must-own. My kid loves it though, and sometimes that's all that matters.
Cadence of Hyrule is every bit a classic Zelda adventure with the added wrinkle of a rhythm puzzle game. It's not overly long, but Cadence of Hyrule is the kind of game that will kill you over and over again, and you'll still keep begging for more. It's a classic top-down Hyrule adventure, with a playable Link, Zelda, and guest-appearing Cadence from Crypt of the Necrodancer. It's a cross-over you never would have expected, and one that quickly becomes an absolute treasure.
Slay the Spire is a nearly endlessly replayable Indie delight from Mega Crit. It came out on the PC and PS4 already, but Switch owners owe it to themselves to pick this one up as it's nice to have a such a stellar and casually playable game on the go. Some of the best strategic RPG fights in the industry, with a steep difficulty curve, means you'll be trying to best this game for weeks or months before you tire of it.
Shakedown Hawaii one-ups Retro City Rampage in almost every way, and is most certainly a must-play on the Nintendo Switch. Heck, it's a must-play on every system, because Vblank made sure to put it on just about everything. If you like things that are fun, you're not going to have much bad to say about this one. It would have been nice to pick from a man or a woman main character, but that's about the largest complaint I can levy. Go get this game.
RBI 19 is another step forward for the returning series, and it's still the only game in town on the Switch if you want a baseball game. But for a game that fancies itself as more arcade than simulation, it's still a bit bland to play for my liking. They either need to fully commit to the Arcade-stylings or try harder to be a sim. I'd expect RBI 20 to be more of the former.
Devil May Cry 5 is a solid game, and one I'd heartily recommend for anyone who once loved or has interest in the series. For those looking for something more than a beautiful brawler to sink a dozen hours into, you may want to wait for a sale.
For my money, Trials Rising is simply worth every penny. It's a rare game that I'm finished reviewing and still want to play.
As I said, there's plenty of game here, and it's all been a joy. Far Cry 5 was one of the best games in the series, and yet New Dawn may have just eclipsed it with some fine-tuning and a brave new world to explore. I can hardly wait to see what's next from the series, and I hope it follows in the footsteps of The Father.
God Eater 3 won't stoke the hearts of Monster Hunter World addicts too much, but it could prove to be a nice break for fans of that game. For God Eater faithful, 3 will undoubtedly become their favorite due to an overall better presentation and sharper combat and multiplayer.
Yakuza Kiwami is the first of several planned remakes of the original series, and chances are all of them will wind up on the PC at some point. It's been a long wait for many to see such a revered classic on the PC, but it's one that's worth every bit of that patience.
Tales of Vesperia may very well be the best JRPG on the Nintendo Switch, even if it's over a decade old. I'd love to see more games get the port treatment to the Switch, but even more than that I'm hoping that the series leads decide to bring the next game to the Nintendo console at launch. Recommended for any fans of the series or the JRPG genre.
There's nothing quite like Kingdom Hearts. It's like the most elaborate fan fiction of the Disney universe – a digital walkthrough of the movies with a loosely connective narrative tissue that just doesn't matter much when all is said and done. If you embrace that it's all nonsense to serve you up a delightful nostalgic romp through some of the greatest and most beloved family films, you're not going to be disappointed.
Wargroove is the best turn-based strategy RPG that's come out in ages. With a near limitless content pool, a solid single-player campaign, and addictive multiplayer options, it should be around and entertaining its fans for years. Here's hoping it's the start of a new franchise, because I already want more.
In short, buy it if you're a fan of any of those things, maybe wait for a sale if you're not quite sure. But here's hoping we get a real No More Heroes next, because this just made me realize I really want that to happen.
If you’re a fan of the Wolbyware’s previous work or are a fan of platformers I think Omega Strike is definitely worth a look-in however for this writer there’s not enough to keep bringing me back to the title.
Below is a good game, but it could have been something great with some more attention to things that were bound to frustrate gamers from the get-go. It's a solid adventure, and a wonderfully interesting mystery. But it's not always fun to play.
Gris is not only beautiful, but it's also the perfect platformer for anyone who likes a challenge to be about more than reflexes or enemy slaughter. It's a thinking game, that also happens to have really good platforming at its core. It's neither too long nor too short, and worth every penny to experience the year's most beautiful visuals.
Kingdom Two Crowns is an ideal sequel, and the perfect console strategy game. There's nothing here that anyone can't pick up and understand, and yet the rabbit hole goes deep and the mystery slowly unfolds as you progress into the game's many lands. It's a great game for the solo player, and even better with a friend. Do yourself a favor, and pick it up and love it as I have.
Eden Games has a lot to work with for this racing series. It could be a great game, but right now it feels a little too mundane, a little too tied to its own past, and marred by technical issues that really slow down the pacing of what should be a fast pick-up-and-go sort of game. It winds up feeling like a downgrade from the last game, rather than an upgrade.
Guacamelee! 2 is a great sequel that manages to carry over everything that worked in the first game while offering a fun, zany new story for players to discover. The Nintendo Switch port brings the added bonus of portability and makes short play sessions possible for on the go players. Local co-op can be a bit rough if only using the Joy-cons but this is hardly a deal breaker. If you haven't picked up Guacamelee! 2 yet I highly recommend picking it us on the Switch as it offers everything the other consoles do with the perks of mobility.